"Gordon Brown rightly refuses to meet Zimbabwe's dictator, Robert
Mugabe, but he happily welcomes to Downing Street the Saudi tyrant,
King Abdullah. It is double standards," said human rights campaigner,
Peter Tatchell.

Mr Tatchell will be joining protests this week in London against the
Saudi leader's State Visit to Britain (details below).

"The Saudi regime is guilty of detention without trial, torture and
public beheadings. Political parties, trade unions and non-Muslim
religions are banned. Women not allowed to vote or drive a car. Gay
people are flogged and executed. The country is a theocratic police
state.

"Despite these shocking human rights abuses, the Queen has invited
King Abdullah to stay with her at Buckingham Palace. Our head of state
should not be entertaining a serial human rights abuser.

"King Abdullah should be arrested and put on trial for torture, not
embraced and feted.

"The Prime Minister has spoken out against the Burmese junta, but he
is silent about the grotesque human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.
Britain is propping up the King's dictatorship by buying his oil and
selling him weapons. Gordon Brown is colluding with Abdullah's
oppression of the Saudi people. He's putting money-making before human
rights.

"Saudi Arabia has exported religious fundamentalism and terrorism
around the world. It should be designated a pariah state. Instead, we
are giving an oil-rich, pro-western despot the red carpet treatment.
It is especially disgraceful that a Labour government is backing this
blood-stained regime," said Mr Tatchell.

More information: Peter Tatchell – 020 7403 1790

John McDonnell MP has tabled Early Day Motion 2102 opposing the Saudi
State Visit.

EDM 2102 STATE VISIT OF KING ABDULLAH OF SAUDI ARABIA 11.10.2007

McDonnell, John
"That this House notes with concern the state visit of King Abdullah
bin Abdul Azaz al Saud of Saudi Arabia to the United Kingdom on 30th
October 2007; believes that Saudi Arabia is one of the most repressive
societies on earth, with no political parties, free elections,
independent media or trade unions; views with alarm the systematic
human rights abuses that exist within the Kingdom, such as the lack of
basic rights for women, the practice of public beheadings and the
repression of homosexuals; condemns the recent sale of 72 Eurofighters
to such a barbaric regime; and calls upon the British Government to
base its foreign policy towards Saudi Arabia on democracy and human
rights rather than on narrow economic interests."

Two protests are planned this week against King Abdullah's State Visit:

Protest 1:
Tuesday 30 October, 11.15am to 1pm, outside the ICA, The Mall, SW1Y
5AH, as King Abdullah passes down The Mall, en route to Buckingham
Palace at 12.30pm.
This demonstration will protest against British arms sales to Saudi
Arabia and demand a re-opening of the Serious Fraud Office inquiry
into the bribery of senior Saudi officials. This demonstration is
organised by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT).

"The protest has been called to oppose British support for this
repressive tyranny, and to stop our foreign policy being dictated by
the oil and defence industries," said protest co-organiser, Owen
Jones. "Just recently, Britain sold 72 Eurofighters to the dictators
in Riyadh," he added.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has claimed Britain failed to act on information which might have averted the London bombings on July 7, 2005.

Ahead of a visit to Britain, he said his country warned the UK about a threat, but nothing was done about it.

King Abdullah has also accused the UK of not doing enough to fight international terrorism.

The King will arrive in Britain on Monday for a state visit already mired in controversy.

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable announced on Sunday that he would be boycotting the visit - which begins formally on Tuesday - in protest at the corruption scandal over the infamous Al Yamamah arms deal.

And a mass demonstration is planned outside the Saudi embassy in London later in the week in protest at the kingdom's human rights record.

Last year Tony Blair halted a long-running Serious Fraud Office inquiry into the £40 billion deal signed by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

Mr Blair argued Saudi security co-operation in the fight against international terrorism could be jeopardised if the investigation continued.

But critics claimed he was more concerned Britain could lose out on a fresh £20 billion contract to supply the Saudis with 72 Eurofighters.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the decision to invite King Abdullah now reflected the "long-standing friendship" between the two nations.

The government today rejected a claim by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia that it failed to act on Saudi anti-terrorist intelligence before the July 7 bombings.
In an interview with the BBC ahead of his controversial visit to the UK, the Saudi head of state said countries such as Britain needed to put more effort into the fight against terrorism.

"We have sent information to Great Britain before the terrorist attacks in Britain [in 2005], but unfortunately no action was taken. And it may have been able to maybe avert the tragedy," he said, speaking through an interpreter.

The claim has put the prime minister, Gordon Brown, in an awkward diplomatic position at the start of the four-day visit.
A spokesman for Mr Brown said no warnings had been received before the July 7 blasts on three London underground trains and a bus.

"We made it very clear at the time that no specific warnings were received from any source," the spokesman said. "We do have a very close intelligence relationship with the Saudis ... we just happen to disagree on this point."

The state visit is set to spark protests over Saudi Arabia's human rights record and its allegedly corrupt arms deals. Some observers have suggested that the king's remarks were designed to divert attention from these issues.

Kate Allen, the director of Amnesty International UK, called on Mr Brown to express Britain's disgust at Saudi Arabia human rights record.

"Gordon Brown should use his meeting with the Saudi king to make absolutely clear that the extent and severity of human rights abuses in [his] country are totally unacceptable," she said.

Amnesty said peaceful opponents of the Saudi regime are subject to detention without trial, and has also voiced concerns about allegations of torture and the number of death sentences and floggings imposed by courts.

However, a Downing Street spokeswoman expressed approval for recent reforms in Saudi Arabia.

"The government has, where necessary, raised concerns we have regarding human rights, but equally we are recognising that there have been developments under way," she said.

"There is the establishment of the national human rights council, there have been recent local council elections and encouraging statements from the authorities there that women will vote next time [elections] take place."

The Liberal Democrat acting leader, Vince Cable, took the unusual step of announcing that he would boycott the visit. Mr Cable said his move was a protest against the corruption scandal over the al-Yamamah arms deal.

"The human rights record of this government is absolutely appalling," he told BBC radio, citing "systematic discrimination against women, people of other religions, the exercise of systematic corporal punishment through amputation, [and] public beheadings".

The Conservatives described Mr Cable's boycott as "juvenile gesture politics".

A Foreign Office spokesman said the state visit would "deepen" the relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia. He said it provided an opportunity to "discuss a wide range of issues ... including peace and security in the Middle East and our shared determination to fight terrorism".

The Labour MP John McDonnell said protesters would stage a mass demonstration against the kingdom's human rights record outside the Saudi embassy on Wednesday.

"The British people will be aghast at the government entertaining on a state visit one of the most prominent anti-democratic and human rights-abusing leaders in the world," he said.

"Why is it that in the ... prime minister condemns the lack of democracy in Burma and the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe but remains silent when it comes to the Saudi dictatorship?"

Last December, Tony Blair was heavily criticised after stepping in to halt a Serious Fraud Office investigation into a deal between the defence contractor BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia, saying it posed risks to British-Saudi relations.

During his visit, King Abdullah is expected to formally sign an order for 72 Eurofighter aircraft manufactured by a consortium led by BAE.

Name me some countries that aren't elligible for a bit of regime change (provided it is driven from within, by the people for the people). There are very few countries indeed that are truly accountable and representative of their people. In most countries, the institutions of power (politics, military, media, etc) are controlled / strongly influenced by a corrupt elite and all countries are subject to the 'real politik' of the US being a de facto empire and the world's only superpower run by a criminal mafia.

This bleating about Saudi Arabia's human rights record is a diversion. Most people could tell you that they are tough on women, people are denied a proper vote, and kill princesses in nasty ways, but what else? Is Saudi Arabia any worse than many other states?

This human rights issue is a complete diversion. Vincent Cable's snub of the Saudi king and the protests on human rights abuses (that most people don't know much about) is guaranteed to focus media attention on that and NOT on the fact that Saudi Arabia is being treated as a close allay by the UK when it is that country that is financing so-called Islamic extremism that is hell bent on destroying Western civilization, or so we are told. Why is the UK government being allowed to get away with that.

This bleating about Saudi Arabia's human rights record is a diversion. Most people could tell you that they are tough on women, people are denied a proper vote, and kill princesses in nasty ways, but what else? Is Saudi Arabia any worse than many other states?

This human rights issue is a complete diversion. Vincent Cable's snub of the Saudi king and the protests on human rights abuses (that most people don't know much about) is guaranteed to focus media attention on that and NOT on the fact that Saudi Arabia is being treated as a close allay by the UK when it is that country that is financing so-called Islamic extremism that is hell bent on destroying Western civilization, or so we are told. Why is the UK government being allowed to get away with that.

Course, we know the real reason....

Of course it's not a diversion. The Saudi regime is most despicable and hand in glove. Maybe they'll be attacked themselves eventually, now the US bases have been moved to Iraq The Saudis only finance the myth not the actuality, other than perhaps the Israeli -created hamas_________________http://www.exopolitics-leeds.co.uk/introduction

If it's not a diversion, why aren't the press asking the UK government why it has close relations to a government that finances terrorism? Yeh, Saudis are a scapegoat. The Anglo-American Establishment are behind it. That explains why there isn't more focus on what the 'international community' are doing to 'help' their ally get rid of extremism.

I'm sure the Saudis are bad human rights violators, but as I've said, I couldn't come up with an argument is to why they are among the worst. Not sure most people could.

Anyone else find it odd that Milliband is in America to attend the birth of his new foster child? The woman giving birth to it was also induced._________________"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.” Martin Luther King

I was at this demonstration outside the Saudi Embassy last night, along with John McDonnell MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Peter Tatchell (human rights campaigner), Katy Clark MP, Murad Qureshi (London Assembly member), Sandy Mitchell (former British prisoner in Saudi Arabia and victim of Saudi torture, eventually released in a prisoner swap deal with Saudi citizens imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay), Sandy's solicitor who is attempting to get his torturers prosecuted under European human rights laws, and around 200 others.

I was able to clear up a few matters with Peter Tatchell, currently the victim of a personal vendetta by Stelios (Karl Kahn) on this forum. Stelios has made many false, defamatory claims about Peter on this forum for which he has been unable to produce compelling evidence including allegations that Peter:

- is only concerned about human rights abuses in countries which the UK government is antagonistic towards
- he promotes paedophilia
- he supported the Western invasion of Iraq
- he now supports a Western invasion of Iran
- he is a Zionist
- he is a former member of the Militant tendency
- he never criticises abuses in Israel
- he denied being gay while fighting the Bermondsey byelection

All of these allegations are false.

If Rachel North has the right to have libellous allegations about her removed from this forum, so does Peter Tachell. I hope this will now happen. It is an abuse of this forum for one supporter to use it to spread defamatory, false information about a supporter of the campaign for truth. This must stop.

Peter has campaigned against the Israeli occupation of Palestine and for the establishment of a Palestinian state for many years.

He has never promoted paedophilia; he merely thinks that the age of consent in Britain should be the same as that in France: 14, but not as low as that in Spain: 12.

He has never advocated a Western attack on Iraq or Iran.

He has never been a member of the Militant tendency.

He never denied being gay during the Bermondsey byelection, merely refused to answer questions about his sexuality on the grounds that it was irrelevant to his suitabilty to be an MP.

One allegation made against him is, however, correct. He has lectured at Sandhurst. These lectures have been on the topics of:
- why British forces should withdraw form Northern Ireland
- why Britain should give up nuclear weapons
- why the British military should not be making plans with the government for military rule in Britain in the event of an emergency being declared.

Gordon Brown should not be welcoming the Saudi dictator, King
Abdullah, to Britain. Peter Tatchell interviews protest organiser Owen
Jones of the Socialist Youth Network and Simon Hill of the Campaign
Against the Arms Trade.

The Saudi regime is one of the most corrupt and barbaric in the world.
It is guilty of detention without trial, torture and public
beheadings. Yet Britain sells arms, pays bribes and welcomes the
"Killer King" to Downing Street.

Gordon Brown refuses to meet the Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe. He
says he wants to take a stand against tyranny. Yet Gordon Brown is
willing to meet the Saudi dictator, the "Killer King" Abdullah. The
oil-rich despot will be hosted by the Prime Minister at Downing Street
and he will stay with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

The blood-stained "Killer King" presides over a regime that is guilty
of detention without trial, torture and the public beheading of
unchaste women, gay people and Muslims who turn away from their faith.
His government bans political parties, trade unions and suppresses not
only non-Muslim religions but even Muslims who do not adhere to the
Saudi state's hardline interpretation of Islam. Women are prohibited
from voting or driving and must cover themselves from head to toe. The
country is a theocratic police state.

These abuses provoke not a murmur of criticism from the British and US
governments. Instead, we prop up the "Killer King's" regime; selling
him arms and buying his oil.

King Abdullah should be arrested and put on trial for torture, not
embraced and feted.

Saudi prince defects: 'Brutality, oppression as govt scared of Arab revolts' (EXCLUSIVE)
Published time: August 12, 2013 11:37
http://rt.com/news/saudi-arabia-opposition-prince-374/
Saudi Arabia, a major supporter of opposition forces in Syria, has increased crackdown on its own dissenters, with 30,000 activists reportedly in jail. In an exclusive interview to RT a Saudi prince defector explained what the monarchy fears most.
“Saudi Arabia has stepped up arrests and trials of peaceful dissidents, and responded with force to demonstrations by citizens,” Human Rights Watch begins the country’s profile on its website.
Political parties are banned in Saudi Arabia and human rights groups willing to function legally have to go no further than investigating things like corruption or inadequate services. Campaigning for political freedoms is outlawed.
One of such groups, which failed to get its license from the government, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), was cited by AFP as saying the kingdom was holding around 30,000 political prisoners.
Saudi Prince Khaled Bin Farhan Al-Saud, who spoke to RT from Dusseldorf, Germany, confirmed reports of increased prosecution of anti-government activists and said that it’s exactly what forced him to defect from his family. He accused the monarchy of corruption and silencing all voices of dissent and explained how the Saudi mechanism for suppression functioned.
“There is no independent judiciary, as both police and the prosecutor’s office are accountable to the Interior Ministry. This ministry’s officials investigate ‘crimes’ (they call them crimes), related to freedom of speech. So they fabricate evidence, don’t allow people to have attorneys”, the prince told RT Arabic. “Even if a court rules to release such a ‘criminal’, the Ministry of Interior keeps him in prison, even though there is a court order to release him. There have even been killings! Killings! And as for the external opposition, Saudi intelligence forces find these people abroad! There is no safety inside or outside the country.”

Prince Khalid Bin Farhan Al-Saud

The strong wave of oppression is in response to the anti-government forces having grown ever more active. A new opposition group called Saudi Million and claiming independence from any political party was founded in late July. The Saudi youths which mostly constitute the movement say they demand the release of political prisoners and vow to hold regular demonstrations, announcing their dates and locations via Facebook and electronic newspapers.
Human rights violations are driving people on to the streets despite the fear of arrest, according to activist Hala Al-Dosari, who spoke to RT from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“We have issues related to political and civil rights, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. These are the main issues that cause a lot of people to be at risk for just voicing out their opinions or trying to form associations, demonstrate or protest, which is banned by the government.”
The loudest voice of the Saudi opposition at the moment is a person called ‘Saudi Assange’. His Twitter name is @Mujtahidd, he keeps his identity and whereabouts secret and is prolific in online criticism of the ruling family, which has gained him over a million followers.
“The regime can destroy your credibility easily and deter people from dealing with you if your identity is public,” Mujtahid wrote to RT’s Lindsay France in an email.
Prince Khalid Bin Farhan Al-Saud announced his defection from the Saudi Arabian royal family on July 27.
“They don’t think about anything but their personal benefits and do not care for the country’s and people’s interests, or even national security,” his statement reads as cited by the website of Tehran-based Al Alam International News Channel.
The prince criticized the royal family for silencing all voices calling for reforms and said he learned of the common Saudis’ sufferings having gone through “horrible personal experience,” without specifying exactly what it was.
The Twitter activist’s anonymity is understandable. The most recent example of what can happen to activists is the case of Raif Badawi, the founder of the Free Saudi Liberals website, who was found guilty of insulting Islam through his online forum and sentenced the activist to 600 lashes and seven years in prison.
In June, seven people were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for ‘inciting protests’ via Facebook. The indicted denied charges and said they were tortured into confession.
“The government is obviously scared of the Arab revolutions. And they’ve responded as they usually do: by resorting to oppression, violence, arbitrary law, and arrest,” Prince Khaled says, adding that so far the tougher the measures the government took to suppress the dissent, the louder that dissent’s voice was.
“The opposition used to demand wider people’s representation in governing bodies, more rights and freedoms. But the authorities reacted with violence and persecution, instead of a dialogue. So the opposition raised the bar. It demanded constitutional monarchy, similar to what they have in the UK, for example. And the Saudi regime responded with more violence. So now the bar is even higher. Now the opposition wants this regime gone.”
There was a time, at the beginning of the Arab Spring movement in the region in 2011, when the government tried to appease opposition activists by a $60 billion handout program by King Abdullah, according to Pepe Escobar, a correspondent for the Asia Times. He calls that move an attempt to “bribe” the population. However there was also a stick with this carrot.
“The stick is against the Shiite minority - roughly 10 percent of Saudi Arabia - who live in the Eastern province where most of the oil is, by the way. They don’t want to bring down the House of Saud essentially. They want more participation, judiciary not answering to religious powers and basically more democratic freedoms. This is not going to happen in Saudi Arabia. Period. Nor in the other Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] petro-monarchies”.
Escobar points out the hypocrisy of the Saudi Arabian rulers, who feel free to advise other regional powers on how to move towards democracy, despite their poor human rights record.
“They say to the Americans that they are intervening in Syria for a more democratic post-Assad Syria and inside Saudi Arabia it’s the Sunni-Shiite divide. They go against 10 percent of their own population.”

'Buying favours from West'
Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on opposition has been strongly condemned by human rights organizations, but not by Western governments, which usually claim sensitivity to such issues.
“The White House certainly does maintain a long-standing alliance with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, cemented by common political, economic and military interests in the Middle East,” said Prince Khaled.
Germany came under fierce criticism last week over its arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, which have almost tripled in just two years, from 570 million euro in 2011 to almost one-and-a-half billion in 2012.
And Angela Merkel's government has approved weapons exports of more than 800 million euro in the first half of this year - suggesting the level will continue to grow.
“With arms they [Gulf States] are also buying favors from the West. They are insuring the maintenance of their legitimacy on spending massive amounts of money that are pouring into Western economies,” Dr. Ahmed Badawi, co-executive director of Transform, which studies conflicts and political developments, told RT.
In 2012, Amnesty International claimed that German-made small firearms, ammunition and military vehicles were commonly used by Middle Eastern and North African regimes to suppress peaceful demonstrations.
“Small arms are becoming real weapons of mass destruction in the world now. There is absolutely no way to guarantee that the weapons that are being sold legally to countries like Saudi Arabia, even Egypt, do not fall into the hands of terrorists. The two important examples are German assault rifles found in the regions in Mexico and also in Libya. And there's absolutely no way of knowing how these weapons ended up there,” Badawi said._________________www.lawyerscommitteefor9-11inquiry.orgwww.rethink911.orgwww.patriotsquestion911.comwww.actorsandartistsfor911truth.orgwww.mediafor911truth.orgwww.pilotsfor911truth.orgwww.mp911truth.orgwww.ae911truth.orgwww.rl911truth.orgwww.stj911.orgwww.v911t.orgwww.thisweek.org.ukwww.abolishwar.org.ukwww.elementary.org.ukwww.radio4all.net/index.php/contributor/2149http://utangente.free.fr/2003/media2003.pdf
"The maintenance of secrets acts like a psychic poison which alienates the possessor from the community" Carl Jung
https://37.220.108.147/members/www.bilderberg.org/phpBB2/

“All that is said in Saudi Arabia about respecting law and religion rules is factitious, so that they can lie and pretend that the regime obeys Islamic rules,” he said, criticizing the royal family for considering the country its own property and silencing all voices from inside and outside the government that called for any change or reform.

The Saudi prince said everything that the pro-reform opposition said about the country’s political, economical, judiciary, social and security conditions as well as their abuse of religious values was true, the report said. “The situation is even worse than what is said in criticisms.” He called on all those who cared for the future of the country to join him and break their silence..'_________________'And he (the devil) said to him: To thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I give them'. Luke IV 5-7.

Last edited by outsider on Thu May 08, 2014 4:15 pm; edited 1 time in total

This bleating about Saudi Arabia's human rights record is a diversion.

Saudi Arabia has an appalling Human Rights record, and it should be exposed at every opportunity.
And they most certainly do not follow Islamic Laws. King Saud was serviced by a Mind-Controlled 'Sex Slave' in the States.

Their stoning's and decapitations are to both entertain and cow the people.
The rulers are servants of Satan, just like the US, UK etc. leaders.

'Bleating' is an inappropriate word to use when Saudi Arabia's Human Rights record is being denounced._________________'And he (the devil) said to him: To thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I give them'. Luke IV 5-7.

'Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has died in hospital, royal officials have announced.

A statement, made early on Friday, said his brother, Salman, had become king.

Before the announcement, Saudi television cut to Koranic verses, which often signifies the death of a senior royal.

King Abdullah, who was said to be aged about 90, had been in hospital for several weeks suffering from a lung infection.

Abdullah came to the throne in 2005 but had suffered frequent bouts of ill health in recent years.

BBC
Analysis: BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner

The official announcement from the Royal Court came as little surprise, but this is still a historic and sad moment for this deeply conservative Muslim country, home to the two holiest sites in Islam, at Mecca and Medina, and the world's biggest oil exporter and producer.

As king he pushed through cautious reforms, including giving women a greater public role, against opposition from religious conservatives.

King Salman assumes the throne at a difficult time for Saudi Arabia. Having defeated an Islamist insurgency 10 years ago, the country now finds itself sandwiched between the growing threats from al-Qaeda in Yemen to the south and Islamic State to the north. Both groups have their sympathisers inside Saudi Arabia.

BBC
King Salman, 79, had recently taken on the ailing monarch's responsibilities.

The late king's half brother Muqrin, who is in his late 60s, has been named the new crown prince, the official statement said.

The BBC's Frank Gardner says Saudi Arabia could face an increasing internal security problem following the death of King Abdullah

All three are sons of the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz, usually referred to as Ibn Saud, who died in 1953.

King Salman called on the royal family's Allegiance Council to recognise Muqrin as his crown prince and heir.

"His Highness Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and all members of the family and the nation mourn the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who passed away at exactly 1am this morning," the statement said.

US President Barack Obama expressed his personal sympathies and those of the American people, on the death of King Abdullah.

"As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions. One of those convictions was his steadfast and passionate belief in the importance of the US-Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond," he said.

BBC
King Abdullah: Key events

Believed born in Riyadh in August 1924, although actual date is disputed
His mother, Fahda, was the eighth of King Abdulaziz al-Saud's 16 wives
Appointed commander of the Saudi National Guard in 1962
Became crown prince and first deputy prime minister in 1982 when King Fahd succeeded King Khalid
Succeeded to the throne in August 2005 following the death of King Fahd
Obituary: King Abdullah

BBC
Abdullah was the 13th of the 37 sons of King Abdulaziz. He is believed to have been born in August 1924 in Riyadh, although there is some dispute about his actual birth date.

In 1962 he was appointed commander of the Saudi National Guard, where he earned the respect and loyalty of the desert tribes.

When he came to the throne in 2005 he succeeded another half-brother, Fahd.

However, he had already been Saudi Arabia's de-facto leader for 10 years because his predecessor had been debilitated by a stroke.

Correspondents say Abdullah was seen as a reformer at home, albeit a slow and steady one.

He allowed mild criticism of his government in the press, and hinted that more women should be allowed to work.

King Salman spent 48 years as governor of Riyadh Province before becoming crown prince and defence minister.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says it is thought unlikely that he will embark on any great changes.

In a recent meeting with the BBC in Jeddah, he appeared alert and well-briefed but walked with the aid of a stick, our correspondent adds.'

'(Reuters) - A liberal activist sentenced to prison and flogging in Saudi Arabia underwent the first round of 50 lashes in public after Friday prayers, rights watchdog Amnesty International said.

Raif Badawi, who set up the "Free Saudi Liberals" website, was arrested in June 2012 and prosecuted for offences including cyber crime and disobeying his father.

The prosecution had demanded he be tried for apostasy, which carries the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, but a judge dismissed that charge.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, a fine of 1 million Saudi riyals ($266,666) and 1,000 lashes last year after prosecutors challenged an earlier sentence of seven years and 600 lashes as too lenient.

On Thursday, the United States asked Riyadh to cancel the sentence of 1,000 lashes.

Amnesty International quoted a witness as saying the flogging took place after Friday prayers in front of al-Jafali mosque in Jeddah.

Badawi "was removed from a bus in shackles and brought to the public square in front of the mosque", Amnesty said in a statement.

"Surrounded by a crowd made up of the public and a number of security officers, he received 50 consecutive lashes on his back. The whole ordeal lasted around 15 minutes. Afterwards he was put back in the bus and taken away," the group said.

The rest of the sentence would be carried out over a period of 50 weeks, Amnesty said. Badawi's website included articles critical of senior Saudi religious figures and others from Muslim history.

Saudi Arabia's legal code follows sharia Islamic law. Judges are trained as religious scholars and have broad scope to base verdicts and sentences on their own interpretation of religious texts.

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday condemned the killings of 12 people in an attack on a French satirical newspaper which had lampooned Islam. But it has also in the past called for an international law to criminalise insults to the world's main religions.'

Stop the War @STWuk
Hands Off Yemen demonstration
12.30pm Sunday 29th March
Saudi Arabia Embassy London W1J5
http://www.bit.ly/1a2VVEThttp://pic.twitter.com/earm7PmKjL_________________--
'Suppression of truth, human spirit and the holy chord of justice never works long-term. Something the suppressors never get.' David Southwell
http://aangirfan.blogspot.comhttp://aanirfan.blogspot.com
Martin Van Creveld: Let me quote General Moshe Dayan: "Israel must be like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother."
Martin Van Creveld: I'll quote Henry Kissinger: "In campaigns like this the antiterror forces lose, because they don't win, and the rebels win by not losing."

Film set to reveal the 'secret lives' of Saudi Arabia's royal family
#SaudiStruggle
The film, now in production, will reveal the claims of a Palestinian woman who says she was a secret wife of Saudi King Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud

A film is being made that will claim to reveal the untold lives of Saudi Arabia’s royal family, focusing on the claims of a Palestinian woman who says she was a secret wife of the late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud.

Janan Harb, 68, is a Palestinian-born Christian who says that after a forced conversion to Islam in 1968 as a 20-year-old, she married the 47-year-old “dashing and immensely powerful” Fahd, who was at the time Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and first in line to the throne.

But the royal family didn’t like Harb and in 1970 she was forced to flee Saudi Arabia at two hours’ notice after Fahd’s brother Salman, the current king, told him to get rid of her and her family.

Harb, who now lives in London and is a Scientologist, says that Fahd promised to look after her financially for life. But she accuses Fahd’s son Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd of refusing to deliver on an agreement struck in 2003 when Fahd was ill, which was to give her £12m and two flats in London’s upmarket district of Chelsea.

Last November she won a landmark UK high court case and Abdulaziz was ordered to pay up, although the prince has until the end of March 2016 to decide whether to try and appeal the ruling.

In the interim, Harb has sold the rights to her extraordinary story to media relations consultant Damien McCrystal, who says funding has been secured in part to produce a film that will provide a unique insight into the inner workings of Saudi Arabia’s famously secretive royal family.

McCrystal told Middle East Eye that a two-minute trailer is currently being filmed in an undisclosed North African country. He said the clip will be published by the end of February in both English and Arabic.

The trailer will feature images of extraordinary claims including Fahd gambling at the Clermont Club casino in London; another showing him injecting himself with intravenous drugs to feed a claimed addiction to methadone; and another airing Harb’s allegation that Fahd forced her to have three abortions because he “didn’t want any little Arafats running about the palace,” in a reference to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Harb says she doesn’t regret marrying Fahd and in fact describes him as a “gentleman” who she has to thank because “he allowed me to escape Saudi rather than killing me”.

However, she admits that if Fahd were alive he “would not be very happy” about the film being made.

“But it has to come out,” she said. “No one in the whole world knows exactly how they live inside their palaces.” she told Middle East Eye. “It is part of history.”

A photo from Harb's Twitter shows her with Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (Twitter)
Saudi Arabia is renowned for being a deeply conservative Muslim country, where alcohol and gambling are banned and women aren’t allowed to drive. Harb’s controversial claims will likely cause much debate in the kingdom, where Fahd was widely adored during his reign between 1982 and 2005.

The film is being made by British director Malcolm Walker of the London-based production company Itasca and McCrystal estimates that it will require a budget of between five and 15 million pounds.

Its working title is “The Weaknesses of King Fahd” and beyond making salacious claims about Fahd’s personal life, it will also prominently feature the current King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud.

Harb says she knew Salman back when she lived in the palace with Fahd, but she doesn’t speak highly of him.

“He is not one of the nice people. I called him the ‘Butcher of Riyadh’ because of how he executed so many people,” she said, in a reference to Salman’s governorship of Saudi capital Riyadh.

“He didn’t have a good reputation, he was very aggressive. He was the one behind me being told to leave. But, he was a very handsome man – handsome and a dictator!”

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz heading the Council of Ministers meeting in the capital Riyadh (AFP)
Harb has a broad disdain for the Saudi royal family, although much of her dislike is reserved for her late husband’s son Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd, who she defeated in the compensation case in November 2015.

Harb described Abdulaziz as having "no shame" and said: “He is ungrateful. Fahd was such a nice man but he went cuckoo when he had that boy.”

Abdulaziz, 43, was revealed by a New York court in 2012 to have a $1bn property portfolio and he is also known to own several super-yachts.

The prince’s wealth comes from him being one of Fahd’s favourite sons, and as part of this legacy he receives 50 percent of the profits from Saudi media company the Middle East Broadcasting Corporation.

Harb claims that Abdulaziz travels the world with an entourage of at least 100 people and spends at least $6m a week on his lifestyle.

The prince has hit the headlines in the past year after his convoy of 10 cars was robbed in Paris of $335,000. He has also been accused of drugging one of his cousins in Switzerland.

His highflying controversial lifestyle has caused much anger among his fellow royals in Riyadh, according to Harb.

“He is shunned by the family,” Harb said. “The family is very happy I took him to court because they don’t like him. He’s not allowed to go to Saudi Arabia now.”

A file photo of Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (Twitter)
Harb’s autobiography, telling the full story of her life as Fahd’s secret wife, is planned to be published by the end of 2016. No date has been set for when the film will be completed.

In Saudi Arabia it is fair to say Harb's story is given short-shrift.

When contacted by Middle East Eye for comment prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a former advisor to the royal family, said: "I prefer to stay away from such gossip stories."

Lee Fang
Mar. 21 2016, 3:16 p.m.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is adding more American lobbyists to its payroll by hiring BGR Government Affairs, a company founded by former Republican National Committee chair Haley Barbour, according to filings disclosed last week.

The contract provides BGR with $500,000 annually to assist with U.S. media outreach for the Center for Studies and Media Affairs at the Saudi Royal Court, a government entity. The retainer includes the services of Jeffrey Birnbaum, a former Washington Post reporter who once covered the lobbying industry and now works as a lobbyist, as well as Ed Rogers, a former Reagan administration official who now lobbies and writes a column for the Post called “PostPartisan.”

The contract is the latest in a buildup over the last two years.

As The Intercept has previously reported, the Saudi government has brought on a dizzying array of American public relations experts and lobbyists to help spin reporters and influence policymakers. Since 2014, the regime has paid the Podesta Group, a lobbying firm run by a top fundraiser for the Hillary Clinton campaign; Norm Coleman, the former GOP senator who leads a major Republican Super PAC; H.P. Goldfield, a lobbyist with the law firm Hogan Lovells and vice chair of Madeleine Albright’s Albright Stonebridge Group; the public relations powerhouse Edelman; Targeted Victory, a consulting firm founded by former aides to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign; as well as two major law firms with a lengthy roster of former government officials on its payroll, DLA Piper and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.

Saudi fees to Qorvis, its longstanding lobbying firm, have increased dramatically. Last year, Qorvis billed the Saudi Embassy $7 million for its semi-annual filing, more than twice the amount charged the previous reporting cycle.

Just last week, Al Arabiya, an English-language news outlet financially supported by members of the Saudi royal family, announced the creation of the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee, yet another newly minted media and lobbying campaign on behalf of Saudi interests in the United States.

The money spent on lobbying has been used to counter growing controversies surrounding the kingdom. When Nimr al-Nimr, a peaceful government critic, was executed in January, the Podesta Group helped the regime shape media coverage, providing a quote to the New York Times to smear Nimr as a “terrorist.” Other American consultants working for the Saudi Embassy used social media and other efforts to attack Nimr and justify the execution.

The kingdom has relied on its media and lobbying apparatus to combat criticism of its human rights record, including the growing rate of executions and beheadings. The influence also extends to promotion of Saudi Arabia’s controversial role in the Middle East, including the Saudi-led invasion of Yemen and the country’s failure to address private financiers of radical Islamic groups such as ISIS.

The Saudi kingdom may be concerned with another round of potential controversies. This week, a new documentary, Saudi Arabia Uncovered, is set to air, revealing hidden camera footage of public beheadings, Saudi religious police beating women in the streets, the destruction of musical instruments (playing music in public is strictly prohibited), and children in Saudi schools being taught to hate Jews, Christians, and Shiite Muslims. In April, President Barack Obama is set to visit the country to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council summit.

In what is probably a world-first, a team of British investigative journalists have put together this documentary exposing daily life inside Saudi Arabia. Public executions, including beheadings and crucifixions, 'religious' police enforcing Sharia law (but only on the mass of ordinary Saudis), horrendous conditions in jails teaming with political prisoners, spectacular wealth for the few and slums for the masses, and public 'education' that teaches children to kill Christian, Jewish and Shia 'infidels' - these are just some of the horrors produced by a regime that is sustained thanks only to its 'most-favored-nation' status with the Western banking cartel.

Meet the regime that sends head-choppers to Syria to 'bring it freedom and democracy'... with the full support of Western 'democracies'.
https://youtu.be/BazG1NIdu6A

How much of a possibility that this fighting is meant to be prolonged as long as there is Saudi money, and as long as Saudi-Israel share a perceived common enemy, Iran and the resistance, while the US provides weapons so that this region serves the greater plan of Israel?

Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah on Friday said Saudi Arabia was causing the collapse of ceasefires in Syria and thwarting peace talks by stepping up support to armed groups fighting against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

"On the battlefield Saudi is backing every step in the escalation (in fighting) ... and is working politically to thwart negotiations" hosted by the United Nations in Geneva, he said._________________--
'Suppression of truth, human spirit and the holy chord of justice never works long-term. Something the suppressors never get.' David Southwell
http://aangirfan.blogspot.comhttp://aanirfan.blogspot.com
Martin Van Creveld: Let me quote General Moshe Dayan: "Israel must be like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother."
Martin Van Creveld: I'll quote Henry Kissinger: "In campaigns like this the antiterror forces lose, because they don't win, and the rebels win by not losing."

In what is probably a world-first, a team of British investigative journalists have put together this documentary exposing daily life inside Saudi Arabia. Public executions, including beheadings and crucifixions, 'religious' police enforcing Sharia law (but only on the mass of ordinary Saudis), horrendous conditions in jails teaming with political prisoners, spectacular wealth for the few and slums for the masses, and public 'education' that teaches children to kill Christian, Jewish and Shia 'infidels' - these are just some of the horrors produced by a regime that is sustained thanks only to its 'most-favored-nation' status with the Western banking cartel.

Meet the regime that sends head-choppers to Syria to 'bring it freedom and democracy'... with the full support of Western 'democracies'.
https://youtu.be/BazG1NIdu6A

That link no longer works; this one does:
'ITV Exposure: Saudi Arabia Uncovered':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHzar9QKT4k_________________'And he (the devil) said to him: To thee will I give all this power, and the glory of them; for to me they are delivered, and to whom I will, I give them'. Luke IV 5-7.

Parliament was misled six times over Saudi Arabia forces use of UK-made cluster bombs during incursion into Yemen
Tobias Ellwood issued ‘corrections’ to six statements on the Yemen crisis
Ministers had said they assessed there was no breach of humanitarian law
But they should have said they were unable to assess any breaches
By JASON GROVES - DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR, DAILY MAIL

Ministers have repeatedly misled Parliament about the use of British-made cluster bombs by Saudi Arabian forces in Yemen, the Foreign Office admitted last night.

In an unprecedented move, Tobias Ellwood, a minister at the department, issued ‘corrections’ to six statements on the Yemen crisis dating back almost six months.

MPs and campaigners have been pressing the Government over the use by Saudi Arabia of British weapons and expertise in its bloody incursion in neighbouring Yemen.

Tobias Ellwood, a minister at the Foreign Office, issued ¿corrections¿ to six statements on the Yemen crisis dating back almost six months
+2
Tobias Ellwood, a minister at the Foreign Office, issued ‘corrections’ to six statements on the Yemen crisis dating back almost six months

In statements dating back to February, ministers have said that ‘we have assessed that there has not been a breach of international humanitarian law by the coalition’.

But yesterday Mr Ellwood admitted that they should have said ‘we have been unable to assess that there has been a breach of international humanitarian law by the Saudi-led coalition’.

The written answer also said it was not for the UK Government to assess the Saudi bombing operation.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said it was an outrage that it had been slipped out on the final day of the parliamentary sitting along with a torrent of other bad news.

‘Sneaking this change out as part of 30 statements on the last day is a disgrace,’ Mr Farron said.

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‘Having spent all year claiming to have made assessments on whether Saudi Arabia is breaking international humanitarian law in Yemen, we now see that no such assessment has been made, and that MPs have been misled on this issue.

‘This sordid affair tarnishes Britain’s standing in the world.’

Yemen has been embroiled in civil war since 2014 when Shia rebels, known as the Houthis, toppled the Saudi-backed government.

The Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa, are now under attack from a Saudi-led coalition. Critics have claimed for months that the UK’s close military links to Riyadh make it complicit in the horrors of the conflict.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said it was an outrage that the news had been slipped out on the final day of the parliamentary sitting
+2
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said it was an outrage that the news had been slipped out on the final day of the parliamentary sitting

A United Nations report last month found that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for killing more than 500 children in its year-long campaign of airstrikes.

Oliver Sprague, Amnesty UK’s arms programme director, said: ‘It’s staggering that such a shameful admission is made at the eleventh hour on the last day of parliament.’

The U-turn is a major embarrassment for newly appointed Chancellor Philip Hammond, who, as Foreign Secretary, was adamant that there was no question of abuses.

In January, he said: ‘I regularly review the situation with my own advisers and have discussed it on numerous occasions with my Saudi counterpart.

‘Our judgement is that there is no evidence that international humanitarian law has been breached, but we shall continue to review the situation regularly.’

Britain licensed billions in arms sales to its theocratic ally Saudi Arabia in the first year of the war in Yemen despite concerns over civilian deaths, according to Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT).

Drawing on newly released figures from the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) department, CAAT argues that despite repeated warnings between April 2015 and March 2016, the government has done nothing to stop the trade.

The organization calculates that exports to the Saudi regime include £2.2 billion ($2.9 billion) of ‘ML10’ licences for military aircraft, £1.1 billion of ‘ML4’ licences for munitions such as missiles and bombs and a further £430,000 of ‘ML6’ licences for armored vehicles including tanks.

CAAT maintains that up to 6,000 people have died in Yemen with up to 80 percent of the population now in need of aid.

CAAT’s Andrew Smith said in a statement on the group’s website: “The UN has accused Saudi Arabian forces of violating international humanitarian law, the European Parliament has called for an arms embargo, but, as usual when it comes to Saudi Arabia, the UK government has focused on arms sales.”

The NGO also pointed out that the between January and February the practice of selling arms to the regime had been condemned twice by UK MPs.

The government’s claims that international humanitarian law had been not breached by the Saudi regime recently came into question after it was forced to withdraw a number of statements on the issue.

The retraction appears to have been timed for the final day of Parliament before the summer recess, and was in written form – on a day when tens of last-minute responses to political questions are poured out by ministers.

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